Method and apparatus for dynamic routing using heterogeneous and disjoint networks

ABSTRACT

Described are concepts related to the field of programmable interconnect substrates used in packaging electronics, and to stacked integrated circuits produced for application in low power and small form factor designs with fast prototyping and short mass-production cycle times. The concepts facilitate the dynamic reconfiguration of routing resources in the presence of an active system, and the tuning of routing paths to meet power and performance metrics.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a Continuation of, and claims the benefit ofpriority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/605,733, filed Oct. 16,2019, which is a National Phase Application, filed under 35 U.S.C. §371, and claims priority PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US2018/040479,filed Jun. 28, 2018, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/526,976, filed Jun. 29, 2017, andwhich is incorporated by reference in entirety.

BACKGROUND

Interconnect substrates are used to assemble systems using multipleintegrated circuits and other electrical components. Fixed-functioncircuit boards, which may comprise interconnect substrates, may be builtfrom a Flame Retardant 4 (FR4) material.

Interconnect substrates may comprise a signal routing network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the disclosure will be understood more fully from thedetailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings ofvarious embodiments of the disclosure. However, while the drawings areto aid in explanation and understanding, they are only an aid, andshould not be taken to limit the disclosure to the specific embodimentsdepicted therein.

FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of a modular stacked integrated circuit,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a modular stackedintegrated circuit, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an architecture diagram of a modular stackedintegrated circuit, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a silicon interposer comprising a pass gate switchbased implementation of a router network, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 5A illustrates routing inside a four-by-four block, in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 5B illustrates routing outside a four-by-four block, in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6A illustrates a top level routing in a first direction, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6B illustrates a top level routing in a second direction, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a routing decision flowchart, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an interconnect programming flow, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a method for supporting multiple routing networkswithin a programmable interconnect mechanism, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a digital router block circuit diagram, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates a digital router block bus bit circuit diagram, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

FIGS. 12A-12C illustrate a routing circuit diagram, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates a computing device with modular stacked integratedcircuitry, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The concepts discussed herein relate to the field of programmableinterconnect substrates used in packaging electronics, and to stackedintegrated circuits produced for application in low power and small formfactor designs with fast prototyping and short mass-production cycletimes. These concepts may advantageously facilitate a dynamicreconfiguration of routing resources in the presence of an active systemand the tuning of routing paths to meet power and performance metrics.

Interconnect substrates may be employed to assemble systemsincorporating multiple integrated circuits and other electricalcomponents. FIG. 1 illustrates a top view of a modular stackedintegrated circuit, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. A circuit 100 may comprise a package or board 101, aninterconnect substrate 102 (or another base chip, which may comprise arouter network), a first component block 111 (which may comprise, e.g.,a processor), a second component block 112 (which may comprise, e.g., amemory), a third component block 113 (which may comprise, e.g., aradio), a fourth component block 114 (which may comprise, e.g., a sensoror actuator), a fifth component block 115 (which may comprise, e.g., asensor or actuator), a sixth component block 1126 (which may comprise,e.g., a sensor or actuator), a seventh component block 117, and/or aneighth component block 118.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a modular stackedintegrated circuit, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. A circuit 200 may comprise a package or board 201, aninterconnect substrate 202 (or another base chip, which may comprise arouter network 203), a first component block 211 (which may comprise,e.g., a processor), a second component block 212 (which may comprise,e.g., a memory), a third component block 213 (which may comprise, e.g.,a radio), and/or a fourth component block 214 (which may comprise, e.g.,a sensor or actuator).

FIG. 2 may be substantially similar to a cross-sectional view of circuit100 along the line A-A of FIG. 1. Various elements of FIG. 2 having thesame reference numbers and/or names as elements of FIG. 1 may operate orfunction in a manner similar those corresponding elements of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates an architecture diagram of a modular stackedintegrated circuit, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. A circuit 300 may comprise a router network 303 that mayroute signal paths between one or more blocks, which may include a firstblock 311, a second block 313, and so on, up to an Nth block 319.Circuit 300 may also route signal paths between a plurality of ports,which may include a first port 321, a second port 322, and so on, up toan Mth port 329. Circuitry 300 may also route signal paths between theone or more blocks and/or the one or more ports.

A programmable interconnect substrate (such as in circuitry 100,circuitry 200, and/or circuitry 300) may contain a routing network thatmay be operable to connect ports of the circuits in many different waysby changing a programming of the routing network. Such substrates mayadvantageously speed up prototyping and manufacturing of electronicsystems by obviating a reliance upon design and manufacture of a customsubstrate before building a system. Such substrates may be operable toaccommodate variable placement of power and ground connections, and mayroute signals between sets of pins on different components that may bemounted on the substrates.

Power supplies may deal with large currents compared to signals, and maybe generally distributed on large wires and/or wide wires, or ondedicated planes on circuits boards. They may also be connected to pinsusing low impedances (e.g., large vias, devices, and/or anti-fuses).

There may be various approaches to building a routing network and torouting signals which may have differing tradeoffs. Some possibleapproaches may include anti-fuses, pass gates, digital circuit switches,digital packet switches, and/or programmable interconnect chips.Anti-fuses may permit two wires to be joined at predefined locations by“programming” the anti-fuse. Once programmed, such connections may below resistance but permanent. Pass gate switches are a transistor basedoption. They may be reprogrammable but may also relatively highcapacitance, which may increase system power and/or decrease a usablebandwidth of the signals. Existing programmable interconnect substratesmay employ a single technology to implement their router network basedon the needs of the system to be prototyped.

Disclosed herein are various mechanisms and methods pertaining toincorporating two or more programmable routing networks into aprogrammable interconnect substrate. Various embodiments may comprise atleast a first programmable routing network and a second programmablerouting network. The first programmable routing network (which may be arouting network designed for, or otherwise suitable for, analog signals)may comprise a plurality of bi-directional gates. The secondprogrammable routing network (which may be a routing network designedfor, or otherwise suitable for, digital signals) may comprise aplurality of uni-directional gates (e.g., boolean logic gates having aninput side and an output side). The first programmable routing networkmay encompass one or more first regions of the interconnect substrate,and the second programmable routing network may encompass one or moresecond regions of the interconnect substrate. The first regions of theinterconnect substrate may be intermingled with the second regions ofthe interconnect substrate.

In the following description, numerous details are discussed to providea more thorough explanation of embodiments of the present disclosure. Itwill be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that embodiments ofthe present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details.In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form, rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuringembodiments of the present disclosure.

Note that in the corresponding drawings of the embodiments, signals arerepresented with lines. Some lines may be thicker, to indicate a greaternumber of constituent signal paths, and/or have arrows at one or moreends, to indicate a direction of information flow. Such indications arenot intended to be limiting. Rather, the lines are used in connectionwith one or more exemplary embodiments to facilitate easierunderstanding of a circuit or a logical unit. Any represented signal, asdictated by design needs or preferences, may actually comprise one ormore signals that may travel in either direction and may be implementedwith any suitable type of signal scheme.

Throughout the specification, and in the claims, the term “connected”means a direct electrical, mechanical, or magnetic connection betweenthe things that are connected, without any intermediary devices. Theterm “coupled” means either a direct electrical, mechanical, or magneticconnection between the things that are connected or an indirectconnection through one or more passive or active intermediary devices.The term “circuit” or “module” may refer to one or more passive and/oractive components that are arranged to cooperate with one another toprovide a desired function. The term “signal” may refer to at least onecurrent signal, voltage signal, magnetic signal, or data/clock signal.The meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references. Themeaning of “in” includes “in” and “on.”

The terms “substantially,” “close,” “approximately,” “near,” and “about”generally refer to being within +/−10% of a target value. Unlessotherwise specified the use of the ordinal adjectives “first,” “second,”and “third,” etc., to describe a common object, merely indicate thatdifferent instances of like objects are being referred to, and are notintended to imply that the objects so described must be in a givensequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any othermanner.

It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable underappropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the inventiondescribed herein are, for example, capable of operation in otherorientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein.

The terms “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,”“under,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, areused for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describingpermanent relative positions.

For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrases “A and/or B” and“A or B” mean (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the presentdisclosure, the phrase “A, B, and/or C” means (A), (B), (C), (A and B),(A and C), (B and C), or (A, B and C).

In addition, the various elements of combinatorial logic and sequentiallogic discussed in the present disclosure may pertain both to physicalstructures (such as AND gates, OR gates, or XOR gates), or tosynthesized or otherwise optimized collections of devices implementingthe logical structures that are Boolean equivalents of the logic underdiscussion.

In packet switched routers, individual bits may be routed fromtransmitters to receivers through a shared network where both the dataand the address of a receiving tile may be provided by the transmitterto the network for each new data bit. This may be commonly done in datacommunications networks (e.g., ethernet networks), but might not becommonly done on programmable interconnect substrates (which may in partbe due to difficulties in defining when new packets should be sent).

Programmable interconnect chips may be discrete components that take upspace on a substrate, and may be internally implemented as either passgate networks or digital networks, with the concomitant advantages anddisadvantages.

Some transistor based networks may be made operable to switch high speedanalog signals. These networks may be disposed to amplifying signals toovercome losses in the routing network, which may make them consume morepower, make them more expensive, and/or make them less flexible, sincethey may be disposed to being adapted to bandwidth requirements andother requirements of the analog signaling.

Rather than using a single routing technology, the programmableinterconnect described herein may advantageously work around variouslimitations by implementing heterogeneous routing networks in parallelon a single substrate. Disjoint networks in the interconnect may in turnfacilitate dynamic tuning of routing resources based on requirements ofthe system. Individual routing resources may be power gated, such thatleakage current from the additional routing networks is mitigated.

As such, the described interconnect may advantageously support manydifferent systems with a singular, pre-fabricated design, which maygreatly reduce R&D costs, and may accelerate product design cycles dueto reduced system design complexity. Furthermore, the describedinterconnect may be used for both prototyping and high-volumemanufacturing, since it may advantageously provide flexibility andre-configurability similar to FPGA-based designs, but within area,power, performance, and cost metrics that are scalable and more capableof being produced. For example, programmable interconnect mechanismsdescribed herein may have a first programmable routing network designedfor or otherwise suitable for routing analog signals, and a secondprogrammable routing network designed for or otherwise suitable forrouting digital signals.

When an un-routed system is created, either during prototyping ormanufacturing, a network may be chosen to route each signal within thedesign. For example, analog signals may be routed using one network,while high speed digital signals may be routed on another network. Itmay be possible to route some signals on more than one availablenetwork, in which case choices may be made regarding which routingdesign best utilizes available resources, minimizes overall systempower, or meets some other metric (e.g., cost).

Furthermore, in some embodiments, chosen routes may be modified aftermanufacturing by firmware. This functionality may facilitate firmwarecontrol of physical connections of the components in the system, and mayfacilitate novel technologies such as over-the-air hardware updates.

In some embodiments of the inventions, two routing networks may be used,both of which may be based on transistor switches so that they mayadvantageously be implemented in the same substrate. High leveloverviews of the networks may be found, for example, in FIGS. 4-6B. Insuch cases, one routing network may be a pass gate switched network,since it may advantageously be operable for routing a wide variety oflow bandwidth signals (e.g., various analog signals), while anotherrouting network may be a digital circuit switched network, which mayprovide for high speed digital signals.

FIG. 4 illustrates a silicon interposer comprising a pass gate switchbased implementation of a router network, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. A silicon interposer 402 may incorporatevarious pass gate switch based router mechanisms. Silicon interposer 402may comprise a substrate having one or more connection boxes 420. Aconnection box 420 may comprise a switch control circuitry 421 (whichmay include field-programmable configuration bits for switch control), asubstrate region 422 (which may include cross-bar switches), and aconnection switch circuitry 423. Connections boxes 420 may beinterconnected by signal paths 429.

Silicon interposer 402 may also comprise one or more configuration portcircuitries 430 (which may respectively correspond to the one or moreconnection boxes 420). Silicon interposer 402 may furthermore comprise afabric and/or input/output (I/O) controller circuitry 460, a self-testcircuitry 470 (which in some embodiments may perform silicon testing),and a power management circuitry 480. I/O controller circuitry 460,self-test circuitry 470, and/or power management circuitry 480 may becoupled to the one or more configuration port circuitries 420 via aconfiguration bus 432.

In various embodiments, silicon interposer 402 may provide a substrateto make electrical connection to and between one or more componentblocks (e.g., according to a design schematic). For example, siliconinterposer 402 may be coupled to a first component block 411 (which maycomprise a processor circuitry), a second component block 412 (which maycomprise a memory circuitry), a third component block 413 (which maycomprise a radio circuitry and/or an antenna), and/or a fourth componentblock 414 (which may comprise a sensor circuitry and/or an actuatorcircuitry). The substrate of silicon interposer 402 may be electricallyconnected to the one or more component blocks by various connectionsestablished via connection boxes 420.

In various embodiments, the interposer may be, or may include, anintegrated circuit. In various embodiments, first component block 411,second component block 412, third component block 413, and/or fourthcomponent block 414 may be chiplets, which may in turn includesemiconductor dies, integrated circuits, and/or semiconductor chips. Thechiplets may have smaller footprints (e.g., smaller x-dimensions andy-dimensions) than the interposer, and in various embodiments, multiplechiplets may fit within the footprint of the interposer.

In a pass gate switch based router (of the sort that may be implementedby silicon interposer 402), filled connections may carry signals betweenhorizontal and vertical routes they connect. A network of such a stylecould be used for an anti-fuse based router, and may incorporate a blockfor programming the anti-fuses.

Digital routers, including circuit switched and packet routers, may betransistor based, such as pass gate routers, but may be limited tohandling digital signals. Digital routers may be reprogrammable, butmight not be operable to handle analog voltages or currents, and may bedisposed to being specially designed to deal with bidirectional signals.Circuit switched routers may set up a dedicated pathway betweentransmitters and receivers to route signals.

FIG. 5A illustrates routing inside a four-by-four block, in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure. A four-by-four block 510 maycomprise one or more rows containing one or more first cells 520 (e.g.,tiles) and a second cell 530. In each row, various first routing traces522 may extend from one of the first cells 520 to the second cell 530.Some routing traces 522 may provide signals (e.g., inputs) from firstcells 520 to second cell 530, while other routing traces 522 may providesignals (e.g., outputs) from second cell 530 to first cells 520.

FIG. 5B illustrates routing outside a four-by-four block, in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure. A four-by-four block 560 maycomprise one or more rows of first cells 570 and a second cell 580.(Four-by-four block 560, first cells 570, and second cells 580 may besubstantially similar to four-by-four block 510, first cells 520, andsecond cells 530.) In each row, various second routing traces 584 mayextend from routing inside the four-by-four block (e.g., from firstcells 570 to second cell 580) to a periphery of four-by-four block 560.

A circuit switched router may accordingly be built around a grid ofcells having various numbers of rows and columns (such as four-by-fourblock 510 and/or four-by-four block 560), with routing happening atmultiple stages. First, signals may be routed across various first cells(e.g., first cells 520 and/or first cells 570) toward one or more secondcells (e.g., second cells 530 and/or second cells 580). For example, asdepicted in FIGS. 5A-5B, signals may be routed across first cells 520(and/or first cells 570) and to the right, to second cells 530 (and/orsecond cells 580). Then, second cells 530 (and/or second cells 580) mayroute signals up and/or down, and each second cell 530 (and/or secondcell 580) may deliver its output in a cardinal direction (e.g., up,left, down, or right).

FIG. 6A illustrates a top level routing in a first direction, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A set of blocks 600may comprise a plurality of four-by-four blocks 610, which may in turninclude various first cells 620 and second cells 630 (in a mannersubstantially similar to four-by-four block 510 and/or four-by-fourblock 560). Within each four-by-four block 610, signals may be routedacross first cells 620 to second cells 630 by routing traces 622. Asdepicted, the first direction may be a horizontal direction.

FIG. 6B illustrates a top level routing in a second direction, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A set of blocks 650may comprise a plurality of four-by-four blocks 660, which may in turninclude various first cells 670 and second cells 680 (in a mannersubstantially similar to four-by-four block 510 and/or four-by-fourblock 560). Within each four-by-four block 660, signals may be routedacross second cells 620 to peripheries of the four-by-four block 660 byrouting traces 684. As depicted, the second direction may be a verticaldirection.

Set of blocks 610 may be substantially similar to set of blocks 660.Accordingly, as depicted in FIGS. 6A-6B, a set of blocks (e.g., a set offour-by-four blocks) may comprise horizontal routing among a set offirst cells, and vertical routing among a second set of cells (e.g., toa periphery of the set of blocks). FIGS. 6A-6B accordingly showconnections between individual four-by-four router blocks to accomplishhigher-level horizontal routing and then vertical routing. Once a signalhas reached its destination four-by-four block, it may then be routedwithin that block to a grid where it may be used (e.g., as shown in FIG.5A).

In various alternate embodiments of the mechanisms of FIGS. 5A-5B and6A-6B, the blocks may have various numbers of rows (e.g., four, oranother number) and various numbers of cells within each row (e.g.,four, or another number), and the sets of blocks may in turn havevarious numbers of blocks.

In various embodiments, with respect to the mechanisms of FIGS. 5A-6B, apass gate switched network and a digital circuit switched network may bejuxtaposed on top of each other to offer both networks in a compact areafootprint. FIGS. 5A-5B show how a digital router may locally connect totiles (e.g., cells), which may contain analog pass gate switches, suchas in a four-by-four interposer block atomic unit. These four-by-fouratomics may then be tiled together, and through unidirectionalrouter-to-router connections, may be connected globally in aninterconnect network, as shown in FIGS. 6A-6B. In various embodiments,such modular architectures may be re-scalable and may be re-fabricatedinto domain specific form factors.

With respect to various embodiments, an apparatus in accordance withFIGS. 5A-6B may comprise a first programmable routing network and asecond programmable routing network. The first programmable routingnetwork may comprise a plurality of bi-directional gates, and mayencompass one or more first regions of an interconnect substrate (suchas first cells of a block of cells, e.g. a first cells of a four-by-fourblock of cells). The second programmable routing network may comprise aplurality of uni-directional gates, and may encompass one or more secondregions of the interconnect substrate (such as second cells of a blockof cells, e.g. second cells of a four-by-four block of cells). The firstprogrammable routing network and the second programmable routing networkmay share a set of input ports and output ports.

In some embodiments, the second regions of the interconnect substratemay be distributed among the first regions of the interconnect substratein a regularly repeating pattern (e.g., three first cells followed byone second cell in each row). For some embodiments, the first regions ofthe interconnect substrate and the second regions of the interconnectsubstrate may be arranged in a grid having columns and rows. In someembodiments, the grid may comprise one or more tiles having a pluralityof rows that include a plurality of first regions of the interconnectsubstrates and at least one second region of the interconnect substrate.For some embodiments, the tiles may have four rows, and one or more ofthe rows may include three first regions of the interconnect substrateand one second region of the interconnect substrate.

In some embodiments, the second regions of the interconnect substratemay be operable to route in at least four different directions. For someembodiments, a first part of the second regions may be operable to routein a first direction, a second part of the second regions may beoperable to route in a second direction, a third part of the secondregions may be operable to route in a third direction, and a fourth partof the second regions may be operable to route in a fourth direction.

In some embodiments, the first programmable routing network may compriseone or more first unbuffered signal paths, and the second programmablerouting network may comprise one or more second unbuffered signal paths.An average length of the first unbuffered signal paths may be greaterthan an average length of the second unbuffered signal paths.Accordingly, signals of the first programmable routing network may tendto be routed in an unbuffered manner for greater distances than signalsof the second programmable routing network.

Moreover, with respect to various embodiments, an apparatus inaccordance with FIGS. 5A-6B may comprise a programmable analog routingnetwork and a programmable digital routing network. The programmableanalog routing network may encompass one or more first regions of aninterconnect substrate, and the programmable digital routing network mayencompass one or more second regions of the interconnect substrate. Thefirst regions and the second regions may be arranged on the interconnectsubstrate in a grid having columns and rows.

In some embodiments, the programmable analog routing network maycomprise a plurality of bi-directional gates, and the programmabledigital routing network may comprise a plurality of uni-directionalgates. For some embodiments, the second regions of the interconnectsubstrate may be operable to route in at least four differentdirections. In some embodiments, the first regions of the interconnectsubstrate may be intermingled with the second regions of theinterconnect substrate.

For some embodiments, the first programmable routing network and thesecond programmable routing network may share a set of input portsand/or output ports. So, for example, the first programmable routingnetwork and the second programmable routing network may be coupled tothe same set of input ports and output ports, and both networks maythereby be operable to be programmed to connect to the same range ofinput ports and/or output ports. In some embodiments, the second regionsof the interconnect substrate may be distributed among the first regionsof the interconnect substrate in a regularly repeating pattern. For someembodiments, the grid may comprise one or more tiles having four rowsthat include three first regions of the interconnect substrate and onesecond region of the interconnect substrate.

FIG. 7 illustrates a routing decision flowchart, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. A process 700 may be employed to routesignals in disjoint networks. Process 700 may comprise a first portion705, a second portion 710, a third portion 715, a fourth portion 720, afifth portion 725, a sixth portion 730, a seventh portion 735, an eighthportion 740, a ninth portion 745, and/or a tenth portion 750.

In first portion 705, a signal in a netlist may be selected for routing.In second portion 710, a decision may be made as to whether the signalis a sensitive analog signal. If it is, the process may move to fifthportion 725; if not, the process may move to third portion 715.

In third portion 715, a decision may be made as to whether the signal'sfrequency is above a threshold frequency (e.g., 10 Megahertz (MHz)). Ifit is, the process may move to sixth portion 730; if not, the processmay move to fourth portion 720.

In fourth portion 720, a decision may be made as to whether the signalis likely to switch at more than a threshold rate (e.g., more than 10percent of the time). If so, the process may move to sixth portion 730;if not, the process may move to fifth portion 725.

In fifth portion 725, the signal may be routed through low-power analogroutes. In contrast, in sixth portion 730, the signal may be routedthrough high-speed digital routes.

In seventh portion 735, a decision may be made as to whether there aremore signals to route. If there are, the process may return to firstportion 705; if not, the process may move to eighth portion 740.

In eighth portion 740, a decision may be made as to whether high-speeddigital routes were used. If they were, the process may move to tenthportion 750; if not, the process may move to ninth portion 750.

In ninth portion 745, a power-gate digital network may result, withlow-speed digital signals on an analog network. In contrast, in tenthportion 750, a digital network may be active, and a digital domain mayoptionally not be power-gated.

Accordingly, analog signals might be disposed to being routed merely bya pass gate network, while high speed digital signals might be disposedto being carried merely by the digital network. Low speed digitalsignals may be routed through either network, but system powerdissipation may depend on which network they are routed through. Signalsthat are prone to high levels of activity may consume more active poweron the pass gate network due to high capacitance of such networks, butif all of the signals can be routed on just an analog network, thenpower to the digital network may be shut off, eliminating its leakage.

By providing for the incorporation of disjoint routing networks, methodsin accordance with FIG. 7 may advantageously facilitate theimplementation of systems with minimum power dissipation.

FIG. 8 illustrates an interconnect programming flow, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure. A process 800 may be employed toimplement an interconnect programming. Process 800 may comprise a firstportion 805, a second portion 810, a third portion 815, a fourth portion820, a fifth portion 825, a sixth portion 830, a seventh portion 835, aneighth portion 840, a ninth portion 845, a tenth portion 850, aneleventh portion 855, and/or a twelfth potion 860.

In first portion 805, a routing decision algorithm may be run (e.g., insoftware) to create an ideal route mapping. In second portion 810, arealignment algorithm may be run during assembly. In third portion 815,a determination may be made as to whether there is a misalignment withina threshold of tolerance (e.g., less than a 100 micrometer (um)tolerance), which may be specified or otherwise predetermined. If it is,the process may move to fourth portion 820; if not, the process may moveto fifth portion 825.

In fourth portion 820, an ideal route mapping may be stored in aone-time programmable (OTP) memory (e.g., a read only memory (ROM), anonvolatile memory, or another memory storage device). In fifth portion825, a re-routing using realignment may be done, and/or a mapping may bestored in the OTP ROM. In sixth portion 830, the device (e.g., a siliconinterposer and/or chiplets mounted thereto, such as silicon interposer402 and/or one or more of component blocks 411-414) may be powered off,or may remain powered off. In seventh portion 835, a determination maybe made as to whether an in-field system is powering on. If it is, theprocess may move to eighth portion 840; if not, the process may returnto sixth portion 830.

In eighth portion 840, during power on, a boot configuration program mayinstantiate various routes. In ninth portion 845, a determination may bemade as to whether the firmware is disposed to reconfigure routing afterpower-on. If it is, then the process may move to tenth portion 850; ifnot, then the process may move to eleventh portion 855.

In tenth portion 850, firmware may send one or more Serial PeripheralInterconnect (SPI) commands and/or one or more Inter-Integrated Circuit(I2C) interface commands to reprogram a tile grid and/or routing. Ineleventh portion 855, the system may be deemed properly configured andrunning. In twelfth portion 860, a determination may be made as towhether the firmware is disposed to dynamically change routing. If so,the process may return to tenth portion 850; if not, the process may becomplete.

Accordingly, a programming flow may configure a routing network for aspecific system during manufacturing and/or in-field usage. Duringmanufacturing and assembly, the system may be tested for misalignmentusing a Realignment Algorithm, and based on the results, either theideal routing program or a re-calculated programming may be stored in anOTP ROM. The ROM programming may be used for initial routingconfiguration on system boot-up for in-field usage. However, after theinitial boot-up, firmware may be able to control and reprogram theroutes using SPI and/or I2C commands to the interposer, which mayadvantageously facilitate dynamically changing the physical system whileit is active.

FIG. 9 illustrates a method for supporting multiple routing networkswithin a programmable interconnect mechanism, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. A method 900 may comprise a forming 910and a forming 920.

In forming 910, a first programmable routing network may be formed inone or more first regions of an interconnect substrate. The firstprogrammable routing network may comprise a plurality of bi-directionalgates. In forming 920, a second programmable routing network may beformed in one or more second regions of an interconnect substrate. Thesecond programmable routing network may comprise a plurality ofuni-directional gates. In various embodiments, the first programmablerouting network may be a programmable analog routing network, and thesecond programmable routing network may be a programmable digitalrouting network.

In some embodiments, the first regions of the interconnect substrate andthe second regions of the interconnect substrate may be formed in a gridhaving columns and rows. For some embodiments, the grid may comprise oneor more tiles having four rows that include three first regions of theinterconnect substrate and one second region of the interconnectsubstrate. In some embodiments, the second regions of the interconnectsubstrate may be surrounded by the first regions of the interconnectsubstrate, and/or may be distributed among the first regions of theinterconnect substrate in a regularly repeating pattern. For someembodiments, the second regions of the interconnect substrate may beoperable to route in at least four different directions.

Although the actions with reference to FIGS. 7-9 are shown in aparticular order, the order of the actions can be modified. Thus, theillustrated embodiments can be performed in a different order, and someactions may be performed in parallel. Some of the actions and/oroperations listed in FIGS. 7-9 are optional in accordance with certainembodiments. The numbering of the actions presented is for the sake ofclarity and is not intended to prescribe an order of operations in whichthe various actions must occur. Additionally, operations from thevarious flows may be utilized in a variety of combinations.

In some embodiments, an apparatus may comprise means for performingvarious actions and/or operations of the methods of FIGS. 7-9.

Moreover, in some embodiments, machine readable storage media may haveexecutable instructions that, when executed, cause one or moreprocessors to perform an operation comprising the actions of FIGS. 7-9.Such machine readable storage media may include any of a variety ofstorage media, like magnetic storage media (e.g., magnetic tapes ormagnetic disks), optical storage media (e.g., optical discs), electronicstorage media (e.g., conventional hard disk drives, solid-state diskdrives, or flash-memory-based storage media), or any other tangiblestorage media or non-transitory storage media.

FIG. 10 illustrates a digital router block circuit diagram, inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. A digital routerblock circuit 1000 may comprise a tile input selector 1010, a tileoutput selector 1020, and a routing circuitry 1030 (e.g., for routingsignals among second cells within a four-by-four block and/or outside ofthe four-by-four block). FIG. 11 illustrates a digital router block busbit circuit diagram, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. A digital router block bus bit circuit 1100 may comprise abit input selector 1110, a bit output selector 1120, and a bus couplingcircuitry 1130.

A router incorporating digital router block circuitry 1000 and/ordigital router block bus bit circuitry 1100 may arbitrate connectivitybetween tiles (e.g., cells), global routers, and local routers. Amulti-bit global routing bus may accommodate parallel routes througheach router, which may advantageously ease congestion concerns.Furthermore, logic between routers on a global pass-through path mayadvantageously be minimized to reduce combinational delays andaccommodate faster signaling speeds in support of high-speed digitalsignals.

FIGS. 12A-12C illustrate a routing circuit diagram, in accordance withsome embodiments of the disclosure. A routing circuit 1200 may comprisea digital block tile circuitry 1210 and an analog block tile switchcircuitry 1260.

Digital block tile circuitry 1210 may comprise various input signals1212 and various output signals 1214. Some input signals 1212 may passthrough a tile control circuitry 1220 of digital block tile circuitry1210, may be processed by tile control circuitry 1220, and may bebuffered to become one or more of output signals 1214.

Digital block tile circuitry 1210 may also comprise a tile finite statemachine (FSM) register 1222, a tile configuration register 1224, and/ora tile configuration decoder 1226. Tile control circuitry 1220 mayprovide inputs to tile FSM register 1222 and/or tile configurationregister 1224. In turn, tile configuration register 1224 may provideinputs to tile configuration decoder 1226, which may generate one ormore of output signals 1214.

Analog block tile switch circuitry 1260 may comprise one or more inputsignals 1262 (which may be connected to one or more output signals 1214of digital block tile circuitry 1210). Analog block tile switchcircuitry 1260 may also comprise one or more output signals 1264 (whichmay be connected to one or more input signals 1212 of digital block tilecircuitry 1210). Output signals 1264 may be coupled to various padsand/or other connectors of analog block tile switch circuitry 1260.

Various input signals 1262 may pass through a level shifter circuitry1270, which may translate signals between two voltage domains (e.g., aV_(DD) domain for digital signals and a V_(DDIO) domain for analogsignals). The voltage-translated input signals may then be coupled tocorresponding switch control circuitries 1272, where they may operate toconnect or disconnect the output signals 1264 to various correspondinginternal signals 1280.

Accordingly, various tile blocks may have switches to connect to analogrows and columns which run across the interconnect. By turning on theappropriate switches, signal connectivity may be achieved. This designmay advantageously be implemented using low-leakage devices, which maylead to very low power consumption for low-power devices.

Note that if the pins of the integrated circuits that are to be mountedon the interconnect substrate have some placement flexibility, or covermore than a single tile location, then the interconnect substrate mightnot need to provide two complete routing networks for both analog anddigital signals. If two partial networks are provided, it may bepossible to skew chip placements in such a manner that the substrate isstill usable, while the cost of implementing two partial routingnetworks may advantageously be lower than the cost of providing bothnetworks to all possible locations.

Moreover, in various embodiments, more than two heterogenous routingnetworks may be employed. For example, if other types of signals areexpected to be used (such as radio or other high speed analog signals),then a third type of routing network may also be provided, or may beused instead of the pass gate network or the digital routing network.

FIG. 13 illustrates a computing device with modular stacked integratedcircuitry, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.Computing device 1300 may be a computer system, a System-on-a-Chip(SoC), a tablet, a mobile device, a smart device, or a smart phone withmodular stacked integrated circuitry, in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure. It will be understood that certaincomponents of computing device 1300 are shown generally, and not allcomponents of such a device are shown FIG. 13. Moreover, while some ofthe components may be physically separate, others may be integratedwithin the same physical package, or even on the same physical silicondie. Accordingly, the separation between the various components asdepicted in FIG. 13 may not be physical in some cases, but may insteadbe a functional separation. It is also pointed out that those elementsof FIG. 13 having the same names or reference numbers as the elements ofany other figure can operate or function in any manner similar to thatdescribed, but are not limited to such.

In various embodiments, the components of computing device 1300 mayinclude any of a processor 1310, an audio subsystem 1320, a displaysubsystem 1330, an I/O controller 1340, a power management component1350, a memory subsystem 1360, a connectivity component 1370, one ormore peripheral connections 1380, and one or more additional processors1390. In some embodiments, processor 1310 may include modular stackedintegrated circuitry, in accordance with some embodiments of thedisclosure. In various embodiments, however, any of the components ofcomputing device 1300 may include modular stacked integrated circuitry,in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. In addition, oneor more components of computing device 1300 may include an interconnectfabric having a plurality of ports, such as a router, a network ofrouters, or a Network-on-a-Chip (NoC).

In some embodiments, computing device 1300 may be a mobile device whichmay be operable to use flat surface interface connectors. In oneembodiment, computing device 1300 may be a mobile computing device, suchas a computing tablet, a mobile phone or smart-phone, a wireless-enablede-reader, or other wireless mobile device. The various embodiments ofthe present disclosure may also comprise a network interface within 1370such as a wireless interface so that a system embodiment may beincorporated into a wireless device, for example a cell phone orpersonal digital assistant.

Processor 1310 may be a general-purpose processor or CPU (CentralProcessing Unit). In some embodiments, processor 1310 may include one ormore physical devices, such as microprocessors, application processors,microcontrollers, programmable logic devices, or other processing means.The processing operations performed by processor 1310 may include theexecution of an operating platform or operating system on whichapplications and/or device functions may then be executed. Theprocessing operations may also include operations related to one or moreof the following: audio I/O; display I/O; power management; connectingcomputing device 1300 to another device; and/or I/O (input/output) witha human user or with other devices.

Audio subsystem 1320 may include hardware components (e.g., audiohardware and audio circuits) and software components (e.g., driversand/or codecs) associated with providing audio functions to computingdevice 1300. Audio functions can include speaker and/or headphone outputas well as microphone input. Devices for such functions can beintegrated into computing device 1300, or connected to computing device1300. In one embodiment, a user interacts with computing device 1300 byproviding audio commands that are received and processed by processor1310.

Display subsystem 1330 may include hardware components (e.g., displaydevices) and software components (e.g., drivers) that provide a visualand/or tactile display for a user to interact with computing device1300. Display subsystem 1330 may include a display interface 1332, whichmay be a particular screen or hardware device used to provide a displayto a user. In one embodiment, display interface 1332 includes logicseparate from processor 1310 to perform at least some processing relatedto the display. In some embodiments, display subsystem 1330 includes atouch screen (or touch pad) device that provides both output and inputto a user.

I/O controller 1340 may include hardware devices and software componentsrelated to interaction with a user. I/O controller 1340 may be operableto manage hardware that is part of audio subsystem 1320 and/or displaysubsystem 1330. Additionally, I/O controller 1340 may be a connectionpoint for additional devices that connect to computing device 1300,through which a user might interact with the system. For example,devices that can be attached to computing device 1300 might includemicrophone devices, speaker or stereo systems, video systems or otherdisplay devices, keyboard or keypad devices, or other I/O devices foruse with specific applications such as card readers or other devices.

As mentioned above, I/O controller 1340 can interact with audiosubsystem 1320 and/or display subsystem 1330. For example, input througha microphone or other audio device can provide input or commands for oneor more applications or functions of computing device 1300.Additionally, audio output can be provided instead of, or in additionto, display output. In another example, if display subsystem 1330includes a touch screen, the display device may also act as an inputdevice, which can be at least partially managed by I/O controller 1340.There can also be additional buttons or switches on computing device1300 to provide I/O functions managed by I/O controller 1340.

In some embodiments, I/O controller 1340 manages devices such asaccelerometers, cameras, light sensors or other environmental sensors,or other hardware that can be included in computing device 1300. Theinput can be part of direct user interaction, and may provideenvironmental input to the system to influence its operations (such asfiltering for noise, adjusting displays for brightness detection,applying a flash for a camera, or other features).

Power management component 1350 may include hardware components (e.g.,power management devices and/or circuitry) and software components(e.g., drivers and/or firmware) associated with managing battery powerusage, battery charging, and features related to power saving operation.

Memory subsystem 1360 may include one or more memory devices for storinginformation in computing device 1300. Memory subsystem 1360 can includenonvolatile memory devices (whose state does not change if power to thememory device is interrupted) and/or volatile memory devices (whosestate is indeterminate if power to the memory device is interrupted).Memory subsystem 1360 can store application data, user data, music,photos, documents, or other data, as well as system data (whetherlong-term or temporary) related to the execution of the applications andfunctions of computing device 1300.

Some portion of memory subsystem 1360 may also be provided as anon-transitory machine-readable medium for storing thecomputer-executable instructions (e.g., instructions to implement anyother processes discussed herein). The machine-readable medium mayinclude, but is not limited to, flash memory, optical disks, CD-ROMs,DVD ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, phase changememory (PCM), or other types of machine-readable media suitable forstoring electronic or computer-executable instructions. For example,some embodiments of the disclosure may be downloaded as a computerprogram (e.g., BIOS) which may be transferred from a remote computer(e.g., a server) to a requesting computer (e.g., a client) by way ofdata signals via a communication link (e.g., a modem or networkconnection).

Connectivity component 1370 may include a network interface, such as acellular interface 1372 or a wireless interface 1374 (so that anembodiment of computing device 1300 may be incorporated into a wirelessdevice such as a cellular phone or a personal digital assistant). Insome embodiments, connectivity component 1370 includes hardware devices(e.g., wireless and/or wired connectors and communication hardware) andsoftware components (e.g., drivers and/or protocol stacks) to enablecomputing device 1300 to communicate with external devices. Computingdevice 1300 could include separate devices, such as other computingdevices, wireless access points or base stations, as well as peripheralssuch as headsets, printers, or other devices.

In some embodiments, connectivity component 1370 can include multipledifferent types of network interfaces, such as one or more wirelessinterfaces for allowing processor 1310 to communicate with anotherdevice. To generalize, computing device 1300 is illustrated withcellular interface 1372 and wireless interface 1374. Cellular interface1372 refers generally to wireless interfaces to cellular networksprovided by cellular network carriers, such as provided via GSM orvariations or derivatives, CDMA (code division multiple access) orvariations or derivatives, TDM (time division multiplexing) orvariations or derivatives, or other cellular service standards. Wirelessinterface 1374 refers generally to non-cellular wireless interfaces, andcan include personal area networks (such as Bluetooth, Near Field,etc.), local area networks (such as Wi-Fi), and/or wide area networks(such as WiMax), or other wireless communication.

Peripheral connections 1380 may include hardware interfaces andconnectors, as well as software components (e.g., drivers and/orprotocol stacks) to make peripheral connections. It will be understoodthat computing device 1300 could both be a peripheral device to othercomputing devices (via “to” 1382), as well as have peripheral devicesconnected to it (via “from” 1384). The computing device 1300 may have a“docking” connector to connect to other computing devices for purposessuch as managing content on computing device 1300 (e.g., downloadingand/or uploading, changing, synchronizing). Additionally, a dockingconnector can allow computing device 1300 to connect to certainperipherals that allow computing device 1300 to control content output,for example, to audiovisual or other systems.

In addition to a proprietary docking connector or other proprietaryconnection hardware, computing device 1300 can make peripheralconnections 1380 via common or standards-based connectors. Common typesof connectors can include a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector (whichcan include any of a number of different hardware interfaces), aDisplayPort or MiniDisplayPort (MDP) connector, a High DefinitionMultimedia Interface (HDMI) connector, a Firewire connector, or othertypes of connectors.

It is pointed out that elements of any of the Figures herein having thesame reference numbers and/or names as elements of any other Figureherein may, in various embodiments, operate or function in a mannersimilar those elements of the other Figure (without being limited tooperating or functioning in such a manner).

Reference in the specification to “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,”“some embodiments,” or “other embodiments” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but notnecessarily all embodiments. The various appearances of “an embodiment,”“one embodiment,” or “some embodiments” are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiments. If the specification states acomponent, feature, structure, or characteristic “may,” “might,” or“could” be included, that particular component, feature, structure, orcharacteristic is not required to be included. If the specification orclaim refers to “a” or “an” element, that does not mean there is onlyone of the elements. If the specification or claims refer to “anadditional” element, that does not preclude there being more than one ofthe additional element.

Furthermore, the particular features, structures, functions, orcharacteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments. For example, a first embodiment may be combined with asecond embodiment anywhere the particular features, structures,functions, or characteristics associated with the two embodiments arenot mutually exclusive.

While the disclosure has been described in conjunction with specificembodiments thereof, many alternatives, modifications and variations ofsuch embodiments will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artin light of the foregoing description. For example, other memoryarchitectures e.g., Dynamic RAM (DRAM) may use the embodimentsdiscussed. The embodiments of the disclosure are intended to embrace allsuch alternatives, modifications, and variations as to fall within thebroad scope of the appended claims.

In addition, well known power/ground connections to integrated circuit(IC) chips and other components may or may not be shown within thepresented figures, for simplicity of illustration and discussion, and soas not to obscure the disclosure. Further, arrangements may be shown inblock diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the disclosure, and alsoin view of the fact that specifics with respect to implementation ofsuch block diagram arrangements are highly dependent upon the platformwithin which the present disclosure is to be implemented (i.e., suchspecifics should be well within purview of one skilled in the art).Where specific details (e.g., circuits) are set forth in order todescribe example embodiments of the disclosure, it should be apparent toone skilled in the art that the disclosure can be practiced without, orwith variation of, these specific details. The description is thus to beregarded as illustrative instead of limiting.

An abstract is provided that will allow the reader to ascertain thenature and gist of the technical disclosure. The abstract is submittedwith the understanding that it will not be used to limit the scope ormeaning of the claims. The following claims are hereby incorporated intothe detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as aseparate embodiment.

We claim:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a first router network which isembedded in an interconnect substrate, wherein the first router networkis configured to send and receive analog signals; and a second routernetwork which is coupled to the first router network, wherein the secondrouter network is embedded in the interconnect substrate, wherein thesecond router network is configured to send and receive digital signals.2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first router network or thesecond router network includes anti-fuses, pass gates, digital circuitswitches, digital packet switches, and/or programmable interconnectchips.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first router network andthe second router network are in parallel.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the first router network includes bi-directional gates to sendand receive the analog signals.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thesecond router network includes uni-directional gates.
 6. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the first router network and the second routernetwork share a set of input ports and output ports.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the interconnect substrate comprises a switch controlcircuitry and a crossbar switch coupled to the switch control circuitry.8. The apparatus of claim 1 comprises a plurality of electricalcomponents on the interconnect substrate.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the plurality of electrical components includes one or more of:a processor, a memory, a sensor, or a radio.
 10. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the first router network comprises one or more firstunbuffered signal paths, wherein the second router network comprises oneor more second unbuffered signal paths, and wherein an average length ofthe one or more first unbuffered signal paths is greater than an averagelength of the one or more second unbuffered signal paths.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the interconnect substrate is on a packageor board.
 12. A method comprising: forming a programmable analog routingnetwork encompassing one or more first regions of an interconnectsubstrate; and forming a programmable digital routing networkencompassing one or more second regions of the interconnect substrate,wherein the one or more first regions and the one or more second regionsare arranged on the interconnect substrate in a grid having columns androws.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the programmable analogrouting network comprises a plurality of bi-directional gates, andwherein the programmable digital routing network comprises a pluralityof uni-directional gates.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the one ormore second regions of the interconnect substrate are operable to routein at least four different directions.
 15. The method of claim 12,wherein the one or more first regions of the interconnect substrate areintermingled with the one or more second regions of the interconnectsubstrate.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the programmable analogrouting network and the programmable digital routing network share a setof input ports and output ports.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein theone or more second regions of the interconnect substrate are distributedamong the one or more first regions of the interconnect substrate in aregularly repeating pattern.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein thegrid comprises one or more tiles having four rows that include threefirst regions of the interconnect substrate and one second region of theinterconnect substrate.
 19. A system comprising: a plurality ofelectronic components; an interconnect substrate, wherein the pluralityof electronic components is on the interconnect substrate; and a packageor a board, wherein the interconnect substrate is on the package or theboard, wherein at least one electronic component of the plurality ofelectronic components is coupled to a power source, wherein theinterconnect substrate comprises: a first router network which isconfigured to send and receive analog signals; and a second routernetwork which is coupled to the first router network, wherein the secondrouter network is configured to send and receive digital signals. 20.The system of claim 19, wherein the first router network includesbi-directional gates to send and receive the analog signals, wherein thesecond router network includes uni-directional gates, and wherein thefirst router network and the second router network share a set of inputports and output ports.